Product SynopsisPublished by Canadean, this Quarterly Beverage Tracker report provides a detailed analysis of the latest developments in the Romania beverage market

Introduction and LandscapeWhy was the report written?In the current climate of economic uncertainty and market volatility companies need to know about more than just data. This report provides a complete overview of all commercial beverage consumption trends, latest market developments and an economic mood indicator

What is the current market landscape and what is changing?Quarter 4 helped full-year sales to improve, as more favorable weather and high holiday spending generated a boost of optimism within the industry.

What are the key drivers behind recent market changes?As usual, any inclination towards saving is usually paused during the holidays, as Romanians once again filled their shopping carts for the Christmas and New Year's feasts (according to budget), driving consumption.

What makes this report unique and essential to read?Designed for clients who want to understand the latest trends in the Romania beverage industry and want more detail and analysis on this data. Canadean’s Romania Quarterly Beverage Tracker report is ideal for benchmarking total market vs retail audit data and is an essential tool for keeping up-to-date with the latest industry and market developments

Key Features and BenefitsReaders are provided with a summary snap shot table showing category growth in Q42013vs Q42012, together with provisional 2013volumes and latest2014 forecasts

An economic mood indicator, completed by Canadean’s local consultant, examines (on a scale of one to five) whether confidence levels in the industry are better or worse than the previous quarter, whether net prices are rising or falling and how Private Label products have performed versus the rest of the market. Selected retail pricing data is given for the most recent quarter and the previous four quarters, enabling analysis of price movements.

Key highlights of the last quarter’s commercial beverage performance are identified and the key market drivers examined

Key Market IssuesWith major macro-indicators showing that 2013 was a fairly good year for the Romanian economy, one would expect some growth in disposable income. In fact, consumer mood remains rather pessimistic, as authorities seem more willing to increase the tax burden, in order to generate new income, instead of improving efficiency.

The only high-volume category estimated to have returned to growth in Q4-13 was packaged water, while carbonates and beer were still trailing (however at a slower pace than in the disastrous Quarter 3).

For the second consecutive quarter, iced/rtd tea drinks lost more than 20% vs the same quarter in 2012, driven by poor performances of leading brands.

Sports drinks remain unknown for the majority of consumers and posted another decrease of 9% in Q4-13.

Key HighlightsQuarter 4 helped full-year sales to improve, as more favorable weather and high holiday spending generated a boost of optimism within the industry

PL continued to slightly outperform overall consumption in most beverage categories.

The increased popularity of the product entailed new related products to be offered on the market: powdered soymilk, machines for preparing soymilk at home (out of soybeans)

Bulk/HOD water has kept a more stable quarterly pace in 2013, as leading players La Fantana and Cumpana slightly increased their business, while the myriad of new players focused on drawing non-consumers of bottled water and/or heavy consumers of packaged still water.